Citation: Amuji, C.F. Organic Farming as a Safe Alternative to Toxic Synthetic Chemicals Usage in Tropical Crop Production. Chem. Proc. 2022, 10, 52. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/IOCAG2022-12190 Academic Editor: Bin Gao Published: 10 February 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Proceeding Paper Organic Farming as a Safe Alternative to Toxic Synthetic Chemicals Usage in Tropical Crop Production † Chinedu Felix Amuji Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Nigeria; felix.amuji@unn.edu.ng † Presented at the 1st International Online Conference on Agriculture—Advances in Agricultural Science and Technology, 10–25 February 2022; Available online: https://iocag2022.sciforum.net/. Abstract: Organic farming ensures that crops are produced in a natural bio diversified state without loss of any productivity. Synthetic chemical usage in the tropics increases the levels of the environ- mental and health risks associated with agriculture. Every piece of synthetic material used each day by man to ‘improve’ agricultural productivity is either ‘polluting’ or ‘poisoning’ the environment. Through these damages to the natural environs by man, more deaths because of serious illness has been recorded. In this work, facts are presented and discussed on how intensive crop production causes problems and ways of ensuring less use of these toxic synthetic chemicals in crop production, especially in the tropical regions of the world. Furthermore, major benefits of organic farming in crop production as well as how organic farming ensures genetic diversity preservation are discussed. This review reveals how organic farming can reduce adverse environmental impact associated with conventional methods of synthetic chemical usage tradition. The work concludes that practising organic farming in the tropics would be very beneficial especially for future generations. Keywords: chemicals; crop production; organic farming; tropics 1. Introduction We live in an environment that is altered in every way by human activities. Every piece of material used each day is either been ‘polluted’ or ‘poisoned’ by humans trying to “improve” the normal lifestyle. Therefore, it is important that we educate ourselves and take interest in what is happening to the earth in order to preserve it. The definition of organic farming involves the ecological production and management approach that supports and improves biodiversity. It basically minimises the use of inputs and maximises management procedures that ensure ecological coherence [1]. However, Hynes [2] defined organic farming as a system of agriculture that excludes the use of synthetic pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, genetically modified seeds and animal breeds, and irradiation. Studies on organic farming have showed that the inherent benefits include a decrease in soil erosion, less use of fossil fuel, a lesser amount of nitrate leaching, an increase in the carbon sequestration, and little to no use of synthetic chemicals [2–5]. In the tropical regions of the world, many farmers that normally use the traditional methods which are comparable to organic farming are now converting to modern methods that involve the use of synthetic chemicals for economic reasons. Therefore, the objective of this review paper is to highlight the major perceived benefits of organic farming on food productivity especially in the tropical region of the world. 2. Modern, Intensive Crop Production Causes Many Problems 2.1. Nitrate Pollution The use of nitrogenous fertilizers, such as urea and ammonium sulphate in the tropical crop production, increases the acidity of the soil [6]. This leads to a high nitrate concen- tration in the environment. Studies have shown that consumption of these high doses of Chem. Proc. 2022, 10, 52. https://doi.org/10.3390/IOCAG2022-12190 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/chemproc